Sometimes my quiet devotion time does not seem to matter much and can be easy to skip and neglect. Meals are easy to notice when I skip even exercise my body craves the action. If I miss sleep I am going to know it. But missing that quiet devotional time with God and the fellowship time in a small group with the saints, easy to miss.
And then the storm hits. Helped a young family celebrate the life of their little child a while back through a funeral. I was very impressed with the husband and mother's faith. There were two worship songs that were sung during the service that moved both of them powerfully. The song's help was because the mother and father had already worshiped with that song before. Perhaps when they were worshiping before they did so out of love and appreciation for God but little did they know He was preparing a heart connection for the coming storm. And His music in their heart carried them through the storm. It was humbling to watch and learn and wonder what songs has God stored up in my heart for the coming storms? I need to slow down and enjoy the road and make sure I am listening to the music.
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Believing and Faith
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6
Abram, later to be named Abraham, believed in the LORD. He believed what He said but that is not what makes the difference. He believed in the person of God. It was personal. Heart to heart. He believed in God's being. Not just His doing but His being. It is possible to believe a word He gives us, it is possible to believe somethings about God but do we believe in Him as a person?
Jesus introduced a revolutionary idea: That God was a person and you need to have a relationship with Him. The Pharisees had reduced their faith to compliance to some rules without any relationship. That is like couples who are married but don't like each other. Forget about love. God desires a person to person relationship. He desires for us deeply to experience His presence in our living and life.
Jesus warns us that those whom He will not allow into heaven are not because they were horrible sinners. The only criteria of getting into heaven is does Jesus personally know you? Have you talked to Him? Does He talk back? Or are you in a relationship with some rules but not a person?
Matthew records Jesus warning in his book, chapter 7 and verse 23, "I never knew you, depart from Me..." These are people who have attended church, done great things for God but did not know His Son.
Job was horribly attacked by Satan and tried to discredit God and His character. Satan wanted to ruin the personal relationship that Job had with God by making it seem as if God had personally abandoned Job. Even his friends assume that God has abandoned Job because Job has in some way abandoned God.
To know the person of God you must master the spiritual discipline of YADA.
1. You must learn how to be quiet.
2. In your quietness you must learn how to be still, very, very still.
3. In your stillness you must learn how to rest.
4. In your rest you must learn how to listen.
5. In your listening you must learn how to reflect back to God what He is saying to your heart without allowing any editing of your mind or your emotions.
God is never silent. He is quiet and gentle and you must be quiet and still and resting in faith and the ears of your heart wide open and receive what He says with an obedient heart. If you do, you will never lack from a sense of the presence of God in your life.
Abram, later to be named Abraham, believed in the LORD. He believed what He said but that is not what makes the difference. He believed in the person of God. It was personal. Heart to heart. He believed in God's being. Not just His doing but His being. It is possible to believe a word He gives us, it is possible to believe somethings about God but do we believe in Him as a person?
Jesus introduced a revolutionary idea: That God was a person and you need to have a relationship with Him. The Pharisees had reduced their faith to compliance to some rules without any relationship. That is like couples who are married but don't like each other. Forget about love. God desires a person to person relationship. He desires for us deeply to experience His presence in our living and life.
Jesus warns us that those whom He will not allow into heaven are not because they were horrible sinners. The only criteria of getting into heaven is does Jesus personally know you? Have you talked to Him? Does He talk back? Or are you in a relationship with some rules but not a person?
Matthew records Jesus warning in his book, chapter 7 and verse 23, "I never knew you, depart from Me..." These are people who have attended church, done great things for God but did not know His Son.
Job was horribly attacked by Satan and tried to discredit God and His character. Satan wanted to ruin the personal relationship that Job had with God by making it seem as if God had personally abandoned Job. Even his friends assume that God has abandoned Job because Job has in some way abandoned God.
To know the person of God you must master the spiritual discipline of YADA.
1. You must learn how to be quiet.
2. In your quietness you must learn how to be still, very, very still.
3. In your stillness you must learn how to rest.
4. In your rest you must learn how to listen.
5. In your listening you must learn how to reflect back to God what He is saying to your heart without allowing any editing of your mind or your emotions.
God is never silent. He is quiet and gentle and you must be quiet and still and resting in faith and the ears of your heart wide open and receive what He says with an obedient heart. If you do, you will never lack from a sense of the presence of God in your life.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Simple Life
God is teaching me to simplify my life. Too many clothes, too much food, too much entertainment and too much noise.
1. Life the Simple and Pure life of Holy Obedience through Simple and Complete Faith in God.
2. Love the poor with my heart and hand. Insure that the hand always follows the heart no matter what. Do not let the mind in on that conversation. Teach the hand to always follow the heart and the Spirit of Christ. Always. And let Him decide who is the poor. I fast every month on the first three days of the month. Light lunch, whole wheat toast for breakfast and dinner. He chose a good friend who seems to be shallow in his relationships for the poor focus for May.
3. Thank You, Thank You, and Thank You. My first words and my last words. I work at a great Church! Thank You, God. I have a wonderful wife, Thank You God. I have wonderful children, Thank You God. I have wonderful friends (YOU!!!) Thank You, God. I have been trained and discipled by unbelievable leaders. Thank You God. I disciple unbelievable disciples, Thank You God. Wow, once you start you can't stop!!!
Simple Faith
Love the Poor with the heart and hand
Thanks forever...
Rod Stodghill
1. Life the Simple and Pure life of Holy Obedience through Simple and Complete Faith in God.
2. Love the poor with my heart and hand. Insure that the hand always follows the heart no matter what. Do not let the mind in on that conversation. Teach the hand to always follow the heart and the Spirit of Christ. Always. And let Him decide who is the poor. I fast every month on the first three days of the month. Light lunch, whole wheat toast for breakfast and dinner. He chose a good friend who seems to be shallow in his relationships for the poor focus for May.
3. Thank You, Thank You, and Thank You. My first words and my last words. I work at a great Church! Thank You, God. I have a wonderful wife, Thank You God. I have wonderful children, Thank You God. I have wonderful friends (YOU!!!) Thank You, God. I have been trained and discipled by unbelievable leaders. Thank You God. I disciple unbelievable disciples, Thank You God. Wow, once you start you can't stop!!!
Simple Faith
Love the Poor with the heart and hand
Thanks forever...
Rod Stodghill
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Fear
Nothing is more anti-heart than FEAR. Fear causes us to not breathe with our hearts but revert to letting our mind and emotions control us. I have seen many a marriage ruined because one mate was more committed to their fears rather than to God or their mate. I have an extra chair in my office that I sometimes place next to a HeartTalk student. Their spouse sits in a chair across from them. The smaller chair sits next to them while their spouse is about three or four feet away. I comment that they are going to hold to the one (usually fear) and despise the other. They do not mean or think that they are despising their spouse but they are. Fear laughs and mocks our heart and our heart's desire. To live without fear means being committed to the way of the Heart without any editing allowed. It means being committed to letting the Spirit of God and the breath of God flow through us. It means being and staying connected to God through His Spirit and the hearts of those who follow Him with all their hearts.
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